Press Release and Photo courtesy of the Atlantic Tour Press. On the weekend of all emotions in Vilamoura Atlantic Tour, Cedric Angot played the greater role and earned the top spot of the Grand Prix of Angola, the most important event of the 2015 edition, held this Saturday at the Vilamoura Equestrian Centre. With qualification for the 2016 Olympic Games and the European 2015, this CSI4* had the participation of a total of 50 riders in the first leg. Of these, 13 were determined for the second leg of the race, where the set including the French Cedric Angot and the Rubis of Preuilly horse turned out to be the fastest, completing the course designed by Stefan Wirth in 50'03. On the "hottest" day of this edition, the equestrian city received visitors from all over the world and some of the most important personalities of the country. João Coutrim de Figueiredo, president of Turismo de Portugal, highlighted the strength of this international competition. "This is a top event for the impressive amount of international riders which attracts and the quality of the competition itself. It is the kind of events that the Turismo de Portugal is interested in supporting", he stressed. Still marked presence Desidério Silva, president of the Turismo do Algarve, Hugo Neves, vice president of Câmara Municipal de Loulé and Sónia Neves, part of the executive of Junta de Freguesia de Quarteira, as well as several leaders of Federação Equestre de Angola. The 2015 edition ends this Sunday, 5th of April, after six weeks of competition in which the best riders in the world, from 35 countries, showed their talent. This year, 26 proofs counted for international ranking Longines FEI - International Equestrian Federation and the last two Grands Prix were qualifying for the next Olympic Games in Brazil. In total 825,000 euros was awarded in prize money. "The competition could not have gone better. We are growing from year to year and we believe that the next edition will be the consolidation of the competition. "We want to make Vilamoura the largest equestrian destination in Europe", foresaw the organizer Antonio Moura. Riders helped underprivileged children On Grand Prix of Angola, there was still time for solidarity. During the last few weeks of show, the riders and public present in the Vilamoura Atlantic Tour 2015 were challenged to contribute monetarily to help the underprivileged children of the Centro de Apoio à Criança de Quarteira. A cheque, in the amount of € 3,850, was delivered to the director of the institution, Ana Romão, by the hands of actor Ricardo Carriço, who supported the initiative called “A Jump for a Smile". "I think it's our obligation to support and promote the work of associations like this that help those in need. The Algarve is a region often overlooked, so when the invitation came I did not hesitate in joining to this action", said Ricardo Carriço. The Centro de Apoio à Criança de Quarteira is a social solidarity institution, established in 1986 by a group of citizens who proposed manage, non-profit kindergarten in order to expand the social response in the parish of Quarteira. At this point, the institution works with a total of 173 children. Vilamoura Atlantic Tour 2015 is sponsored by Turismo de Portugal - Algarve, Câmara Municipal de Loulé, Pine Cliffs Resort, Caixa de Crédito Agrícola, Inframoura, Lusort and Microprocessor (digital systems) among others. It also has the support of Hotel Hilton Vilamoura, Hotel Porto Bay Falésia, Hotéis Dom Pedro, Hoteis Tivoli, Garvetur, Mike Davis, Cegonha Country Club and Hertz.
